


And So It Goes

by TheParkingFairy



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Hurt No Comfort, One-Sided Attraction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-29
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2021-01-06 06:00:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21221744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheParkingFairy/pseuds/TheParkingFairy
Summary: Byleth finally gives a name to the fluttering in her chest whenever he's around. Things do not go as she would hope.





	And So It Goes

She didn’t know what she felt at first. The fluttering in her chest when she heard his voice. The heat that blossomed across her cheeks when he looked to her. The way her breath hitched around him. It was all so unexpected and new and truly terrifying when she was honest with herself.

He trusted her. After Edelgard’s betrayal, she didn’t know if he would ever be the same again. She feared that he’d be lost to his anger and grief forever. But she fought. Everyday she fought. She fought with her shy glances and light touches. She fought with the way she spoke to him, calm and gentle. She wanted him to know that she would always be there to scare the voices away. Someone for him to lean on. She wanted him to lean on her. Eventually he did.

It was so sweet, the first time she heard him call her Professor again. It had been years, whole years!, since he last said that word. Once upon a time she was annoyed by his high degree of decorum and hoped he would learn to relax, but in that moment, hearing that word leave his lips, it was the sweetest most precious thing he could have said. She grabbed onto that moment and knew that he would come back to her. Eventually he would be okay.

Day by day, he came back to her. No longer was she just nuisance, no longer were they just pawns in his war. They were his comrades again. He was their leader, born-again in this forsaken war. He would reclaim his throne, they would reclaim their kingdom and Fodlan would see a new day free from the Empire’s tyranny.

She knew what it was by this point. Could put a name to it. The longing in his absence and desire to be near him. Granted, she felt some level of this for all her former students - now friends - but with him it was different. She never wanted to be without him. Her father had given her a ring, to be given to someone she loved. She didn’t know what it meant at the time, the kind of love her father spoke of. But when she looked at Dimitri, she knew. This was what her father meant. Her heart ached, in anticipation or fear or longing, she didn’t know. She just knew she had to do something about it.

So she waited. They were in the middle of war, this was no place for things like declarations of love! If Sothis were still there, she would surely reprimand her for such silly notions. Still, somewhere deep down in her unbeating heart, she was happy.

She loved him. She wanted to spend her life with him. But she would wait.

Battle after battle she waited. Fhirdiad was there, but still she waited. They still had business to finish. Edelgard would never stop. She had to be stopped. Then, she would wait until then. Once Edelgard was stopped and this war was over, she would declare her love. She would tell him everything. How he meant the world to her. How she couldn’t imagine life without him. How she wanted to spend the rest of her life chasing away the voices.

He called to her though.

As they celebrated retaking the kingdom capital, he called to her, asked her to meet him alone. Thoughts raced through her head, what could it mean? She knew she was his confidante, he would talk to her about anything and everything, but could that possibly mean he felt the same? Could he possibly be able to tell her the very thing she had been hoping to hear for months?

So she walked to meet him, away from all the chaos of revelry. She saw him there, energy reverberating throughout him. He was excited, an energy she hadn’t seen around him since their days at the academy.

When he looked up at her, she was sure her heart would have skipped a beat, if she had one.

Hands shaking, he pulled out a box. It was a tiny thing, no bigger than her palm. Excitement channeled through her. She held her breath.

“I’m going to ask Marianne to marry me.”

She forgot how to breathe.

She stared at him as words spilled from his mouth about how he trusted her. About how she meant the world to him, about how he couldn’t imagine his life without her, about how he wanted to chase away the voices were her by his side.

With Marianne by his side.

Then the words that would crush her very soul.

“You’re truly my best friend, will you support me in this?”

She knew he was waiting for her to say something. So with all the strength she could muster she said the only words she knew he wanted to hear from her. Words that would shatter her forever.

“Anything for you my friend.”

She loved him. She had seen him suffer and fall. She had seen him at his lowest, a slave to the ghosts whispering in his ear. She had seen him finally pick himself up again. She had been there for him every step of the way, providing whatever he needed.

A faithful friend.

The words felt rancid in her mouth.

But he was happy. His friend, best friend, would help him in this. He would have the hand of the woman he loved. With her help.

He hugged her. He was all warmth and muscle and waves of excitement.

She just felt cold.

“We must make plans!” He chattered away about how he wanted to propose to her. To Marianne. He would wait, he said, for the end of the war. She stared and nodded, a soft, absent look on her face. All those years of hiding her emotions served her well. He didn’t realize anything was amiss. Good. He didn’t need to carry the burden of her feelings. He had just rediscovered his own. She would be happy for him. She could be his support and confidante in all things. Even this.

After all, she was his best friend.

Days later they marched again, away from the frigid air of Fhirdiad and towards the battle awaiting them in Enbarr. She stayed by his side, ever his stalwart companion rivaled only by Dedue. Looking across their troops she saw her, Marianne. She stayed in the back with the rest of the healers, never having learned much in the way of offensive abilities. Good, she thought, she could stay safe that way. There may not be room for her in Dimitri’s heart the way she wanted to be, but she could protect the one who was. She could do this for him. For her love.

She didn’t expect an easy victory. She knew Edelgard would fight until the very end, most likely a brutal end. She knew they wouldn’t come out unscathed, but with her ability to rewind time, she knew the odds were in their favor.

And so they fought. Through the city streets their battles raged. Some of her former students went down, but it was nothing time spent in an infirmary wouldn’t fix. She had only rewound time twice so far, to shield them from fatal injuries. Her strength wavered a little, but nothing so serious as to slow her down. So they moved forward towards the palace, towards Edelgard and an end to this war.

When they finally entered, it was as if the battle started all over again. Inside they found archers, swordsmen, and mages, all ready to strike. Edelgard stood leading them all, taunting them. Victory was within their grasp, but first they would have to fight their way through even more. Slowly they advanced, swords crossed and flesh burned. The soothing feeling of healing magic permeated the room. They only had Marianne at this point, forced to leave the other healers behind to help the injured.

But they were winning. Together she and Dimitri were cutting down everyone who dared cross them. In the distance she could sense some sort of dark magic gathering. It was gathering in strength, right around where Edelgard stood. When she finally looked up, she saw it. Where once stood Edelgard now stood some sick, distorted thing, corrupted by dark magic. She never would have guessed Edelgard was willing to go so far as to offer up herself to such dark magic. Truly there was no more Edelgard left to save. Byleth stared, equal parts dispair and disgust. There would be no other way to end this.

Edelgard wouldn’t go down easy though. She raced towards them, towards Dimitri, axe raised high above her head. Byleth called out to warn him, but it was too late. The axe beared down, cutting deep into his chestpiece, forcing him down as blood poured out. Marianne screamed.

Purple flashed. The sound of glass breaking cut through her mind and they were all thrown back in time.

She found herself staring at Edelgard again, horror-struck as she transformed into some sort of horror. She had only moments to spare before Dimitri was cut down.

Before her love fell.

She disengaged from her current opponent and ran to his side just as Edelgard moved to take him down. Their weapons clashed, her Sword of the Creator and Edelgard’s Amyr. She saved him. Dimitri pulled out of his surprise and struck back at Edelgard, forcing her to back away.

Marianne screamed.

The opponent Byleth had broken away from cut her down. Marianne fell down, insides ripped out. Dimitri ran towards her, screaming out in equal parts rage and despair.

Purple flashed again. The sound of breaking glass didn’t startle her, not anymore. Again she found them thrown back in time.

Nearly collapsing in exhaustion, Byleth looked up again. There she saw Edelgard, again gather the dark magic around her and transforming into something grotesque. She had only seconds to think of what to do. She and her opponent clashed. Marianne stood back, waiting to heal. Dimitri stood facing his own opponent, unaware to the horrific change Edelgard was undergoing.

Byleth raced towards Edelgard. She couldn’t remember the last time she had rewound time so many times, had she ever? She couldn’t trust in her ability to do this again if she had to. She had to end this now.

Transformation complete, Amyr again clashed with the Sword of the Creator. Byleth stared into the souless eyes of a former student. So much potential lost. Would things have been different had she picked the Black Eagles? Could she have prevented this war?

Would she still have loved Dimitri, only to lose him to Marianne again?

She yelled out to Dimitri to save Marianne, knowing if she didn’t he would rush to her side instead. They couldn’t afford to leave Marianne exposed. He loved her after all.

Relics clashed again and again. Byleth felt herself faltering. She couldn’t keep this up. She’d rewound too much, used too much energy. This battle had gone on for too long and Edelgard was just getting started.

And Byleth was so, so tired.

One misstep was all it took. Byleth felt the blinding pain brought about by Amyr as it cut deep into her shoulder. It burned hotter and hotter until suddenly she was on the ground and it burned no more. Vision failing, she was alert enough to see Dimitri now, Areadbhar pierced through Edelgard, and Marianne kneeling down next to her.

“She’s lost too much blood!”

She felt it at that point, the energy draining out of her. Too many times rewinding time. She had no energy left, no will left. Dimitri entered her vision, cradled her as Marianne tried desperately to save her.

Seeing the heartbroken look on his face, Byleth felt regret creeping up on her. Could she really let it end this way? Pulling herself together, she decided to try once more. Reaching deep within, she pulled on whatever strength she had left. Every ounce of divine power came forward for one last attempt to prevent what seemed to be the inevitable.

One last time, purple flashed. Byleth found herself thrown back in time again.

She was thrown back further than she had been before. They stood outside the palace, she, Dimitri, Marianne, and the remants of their army, ready to charge in.

“Wait!” She shouted. Her body felt weak, ready to collapse. Her legs shook. She didn’t know if she could hold her sword for much longer. She only knew she had no choice but to.

She refused to let Marianne in. Dimitri tried to fight back, saying they needed a healer with them and she was all they had left. Byleth refused. She was too valuable to risk, she said. Dimitri came in close, whispering so no one else could hear. “Are you protecting her because of what I told you?”

Byleth’s voice caught in her throat. “Yes.”

Seeing the look in her eye, Dimitri knew she wouldn’t budge. So he accepted.

And in they ran.

Somehow, Byleth found the strength to fight, one last time. Maybe because one way or another it was going to be one last time.

They charged, Dimitri to her left, covering each other as they had in every other battle before. She was exhausted and ready to collapse at any moment, but being near him energized her again. And so she fought, every part of her screaming in protest. She could do this. She had to do this. She would do anything for him.

After all, she loved him.

She swung the Sword of the Creator wildly, yet focused, cutting down enemies around them, while Dimitri took down any who dared to get close. They were magnificent together. But she felt it again, Edelgard calling on whatever dark magic she used to transform herself. Again, Dimitri failed to notice. Again, Edelgard rushed forward, attempting to take Dimitri down.

Again, Byleth was there to stop it, sword in hand. Though this time, she hadn’t any strength left.

She felt Amyr bite into her, deep down. It burned hotter and hotter until it didn’t burn anymore. She felt nothing. The world around her grew quiet, until all that remained was her own pained gasps. The Sword of the Creator fell from her grasp and the ground rushed up to meet her. She lay there, unseeing, growing colder.

Somewhere in the distance she could see Edelgard slain, cut down by Areadbhar. She felt it then, warm, calloused hands grasping her face.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.  
It was never supposed to be like this.

She looked at him now, distress clear on his face. She wanted to reach out to him and comfort him, but her arms refused to obey. She wanted to quiet the voices that were surely speaking to him now, whispers turned to screams. She wanted everything for him. She gave everything for him.

He would be happy, of that she was certain. He would propose to Marianne, ring in hand and a smile on his lips. He would flounder a little, his nerves would get the best of him until suddenly he called upon his courage and admitted his love for her. For Marianne. In the end, she had been able to give him this gift.

After all, she was his best friend. And she would always love him.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for any mistakes, I haven't written in so long and I just HAD to get this out. Maybe someday I'll go back and flesh it out. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! :D


End file.
